October ‘09 – Prepared by Gregory Heym Chief Economist, Halstead Property, LLC
City Job Losses Continued in September
• New York City lost 108,600 jobs during the 12 months
ending September, a decline of 2.9%.
• Declines were led by the fnancial activities sector, which shed
32,000 jobs over the past year.
• Despite the heavy job losses on Wall Street, total employment
loss in NYC during the recession has remained below the
Mayor’s forecast.
• Education and health services remained the city’s strongest
industries, adding nearly 11,000 jobs since September of 2008.
Stock Prices Continue Gains
• The S&P 500 Index closed at 1,071.49 for the week ending
October 9, 2009, a 5% increase from the prior week.
• Since falling to 683.38 in early March, the S&P 500 is up 57%.
Mortgage Rates Remain Near Recent Lows
• Rates for 30-year conforming mortgages averaged 4.92%
for the week ending 10/15/09.
• This fgure is up slightly from the prior week, but over 1.5%
lower than a year ago.
Unemployment Up Slightly
• The unemployment rate in New York City rose to 10.3%
in September from a revised 10.2% in August.
• This marks the third straight month unemployment has been
higher in NYC than the nation.
• NYC Unemployment was 6.0% in September of 2008.
